Improvement in pelting-machines



duurt giant attriti (lljiiiiw,

HARVEY BRISOO AND JOB W. BLAOKHAM, OF BROOKLYN, NElV YORK, ASSIGNORS.

TO THEMSELVES AND JAMES H. PRENLIOE, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 90,633, dated J Vunc 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN FELTING--MAGHINES The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HARVEY Brusco and Jon W. BLAUKHAM, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Felting of Hats; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

Our invention applies mainly to the fulling or felting of nutria, or beaver, or other furadapted to form hat-bodies, but the machinery which we have devised for carrying out our process may be used with some advantage in felting wool hats.

Felt hats made of Wool have long been treated by machinery peculiar to that line of manufacture. It has been believed that corresponding hats, made of fur, must be felted by hand, and the efforts to felt by machinery have been directed to the employment of rollers and devices for rolling the fur material variously arranged. i

lVe employ a machine of the general form, well known in the wool-hat manufacture, sometimes designated a shoverf in which the hats are. enclosed in a casing, and alternately compressed and released, but we take care to guard against a too great pressure on the material. Heat and moisture being applied in the form of very hot water, at short intervals, we are able to felt` the fur material very rapidly and cheaply.

lVe find, by lsevera-l months trial, that the quality of the product is about equal to that produced by skilful hand-work.

We have devised certain improvements in the shoving-machine, which render it impossible to exceed the pressure proper for this peculiarly delicate material, and which hold the hats down in a tolerably compact position, and allow the yielding of' the surfaces in a manner which is, we believe, peculiarly adapted to the heretofore almost impossible task of felting successfully by mechanical action. v

We will describe what we consider the best means of carrying out our invention, and will afterwards designate the points which we believe to be new.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specication.

Figure l is a side elevation;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line S S, (see g. 1;) and Figure 3 is a plan view. All these figures represent the entire machine, and iig. 2 shows on the right side the action of the several springs, which allow the parts to' yield, and thus avoid a too great action on the delicate fur under any circumstances.

Figure 4 is a vertical section, showing one end of thel machine, with a modification, which we consider worthy oi description. i

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

lints are employed merely to aid in distinguishing parts,'and do not necessarily imply dii'ereuces of ma terial. The material of the whole may be wood and brass.

A is a fixed platfprm, or flooring, and

Al A2 are stout uprights fixed thereon, connected att-he top by a rod, vA3

B and C are opposite halves of a casing adapted to enclose the hats, with the shoving-devices Dx D2, which are hung on the cross-bar A3, and are operated by cranks in the shaft E, so as to swing back and forward to a proper extent within the casing B C, and compress the hats within each end of the casing.

Each of the parts, B and O, is made open at and near the base, so that hot water poured in at briefintervals upon the hats may escape rapidly and flow away. There are holes on the sides made for this special purpose, and there are other holes on the hottom, as also the crack, or open joint between the two halves, or parts, B and O, all contributing to allow the free escape of the water as fast as it exudes, or is compressed from the hats.

G G are strong springs, adjustable in tension, as represented, extending from the ends of the machine to pins a, on the uprights Al A2.

By shifting the springs so as to it different holes in the plate attached thereto upon the pins a, the tension ofthe springs may be varied at will.

When the pressure ofthe shovers against the mass of hats between either shover and the end ofthe casing is liable to become too great, by reason of the mass of hats tumbling into any peculiar position, or from any other cause, the springs G yield, and allow the end of the casing to moveaway from the shover, thus subjecting the hats to only the proper amount of com pressive force.

A* A are guides, which receive and steady the base of the parts B and C, and allow them to move in obedience to'lthe forces received from the shovers Dx D, and from the springs G, without getting out of place. In other words, the guides A* keep the parts in line.

H H are elastically-mounted boards, which stand over the mass of hats, and keep them from rising too high. rlhey also serve an important function in protecting the mass of hats greatly against any coolinginfluences.

They are hinged to the interior casing, as indicated by h, and are held down by the springs I I. These springs have a tension equal to the greatest downward pressure which is ever required to be applied upon the lyielding boards H.

.I J are cords, shown in the modification in lig. 4, running over pulleys KK, as represented, and weighted with adjustable weights` L at their outer ends. The gravity of the weights partially counteracts the force e ofthe springs, and leaves the mass of hats held down 't ertiaoi the weights tending to prevent their yielding too rapidly.

In the operatipn of our machine, the double-crank,

shaft E being rotated strongly and steadily by hand, or by any suitable power, the shovers D D2 are reciprocated alternately in opposite directions, and a mass of hats, M, in each end of the machine, is alternately compressed and released, and at each compression the force applied being greatest at or near the bottoni of the mass of hats, the mass is compressed at the bottom more forcibly than above, and is partially lifted and partially turned over, being, in this respect, similar in operation to the ordinary shoving and pounding-machines; but the yielding of the springs G, adjnsted to the right force, as represented, prevents the hats from being over-pressed in any instance.

rEhe peculiarly-applied resistance ofthe hinged boards H holds down the mass of hats, and prevents their being too much opened, and especially prevents their being too much cooled at the top, while the copious application of boiling water, applied preferably by hand from buckets, or analogous vessels, at intervals 'of about two minutes, maintains a high temperature, and an alternately very wet and partially-dried condition. The fur hats require to be felted in this `marinera little longer than the corresponding quality and quantity of Wool hats. We propose to make the parts B and C oi' the casing of hard-wood boards, firmly secured together, and adapted to withstand the heat and moisture to which thev are subjected. A

lhe slides A* are level, and the yielding of the parts B and C outwardly, and the returning motion thereof,

i under the iniuence of the springs G being on a level,

gravity oii'ers no direct resistance to the motion; but the inertia of the masses oii'ers a considerable resistance toa sudden motion, and, by reason of such inertia and friction, the springs G are, in a measure, controlled and influenced in their action; that is to say, they do not yield as promptly and as freely tothe compressing force as if the springs could beY applied directly tothe hats, and they do not return the parts B and G as promptly back to their places. In other words, they do notfollow the hats back as rapidly.

We esteem this an element of great importance in the felting of the fur, being analogous, in that respect, to the partial balancing oi' the springs I by the weights L, in holding down the mass of hats. In other words, we have applied the peculiar properties of inertia, or slow yielding, not only with'the springs I, but with the springs G. Y Y W Some of the advantages due to certain features of our invention maybe separately enumerated as follows:

First, by reason of the' fact that thecasc BIC, enclosing the hats, is adapted to open as represented-by the yielding of the springs G, the hats are insured against a compressive force much exceeding vthe tension of' the springs, while the inertia oi' the mass is available to prevent the yielding too rapidly.'

Second, by reason'of the fact that our yielding parts VH H are applied and arrangedv as represented, we are able to maintain a higher temperature in the mass of the hats, and to protect them against rising too high and opening too loose, while, at the same time, allowing the mass to rise and roll with suiiicient 'eedoni.

Third, by reason of the fact that we heatthe fur bodies in considerable masses in the shoving-machine, with the intermittent application of hot water, and with the' provisions above described for gently holding down, and retaining the heat in the-hats, but yielding to avoid a destructive force, we are able to felt fur hats very nearly as rapidly and quite as successfully as wool hats, and to produce the effect of hand-work cheaper and faster, and with a machine of little size, cost, or complication.' y

Having now fully described our invention,

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

The yielding covers H, arranged to operate in connection with the shover, or shovers D D2, and yielding casing B C, and with the niass'M to be felted, whereby the operation of felting isaccomplished rapidly and advantageously, even upon hats of delicate fur, substantially as herein set forth.

HARVEY BRISCO. JOB W. BLAOKHAM.

Witnesses:

SMITH O. BAYLIs, Y J onu S. SNEDEKER. 

